With so much happening in Birmingham over the next few years, it’s an exciting time to be working and training in the second city.

The majority of courses are delivered in two stages. 

The Law Society of England and Wales updated its official guidance on diversity and inclusion language, encouraging the use of alternatives to ‘Dear Sirs’ at the start of legal correspondence – a greeting often used when a recipient’s name is unknown. This use is widely regarded as antiquated, originating from a time when the profession was predominantly male. The Law Society stated: “This gendered greeting perpetuates the assumption that the recipients of correspondence are by default men”.

The president of the Supreme Court, Lord Neuberger, has announced measures to diversify the roster of Supreme Court judges as upcoming retirements create vacancies over the next couple of years. 

The number of pupillages being offered is likely to shrink as covid-19 forces chambers to defer recruitment, the Bar Standards Board revealed in a recent report.

The backlog of Crown court cases – which increased by nearly 50% during the pandemic – has now started to fall.

Kaplan Law School and Field Fisher Waterhouse have joined together to launch a scheme that will help students from under-represented backgrounds get ahead.

Leading law firm Dentons has launched a new policy, developed in consultation with the Employers’ Initiative on Domestic Abuse, to provide support to any staff experiencing domestic abuse. The support was made available across the firm’s offices in the UK, Ireland and the Middle East.

The Pupillage Gateway has opened for browsing on 4 March.

Magic circle giant Allen & Overy has become the first law firm to join the government's new social mobility initiative which gets companies to offer internships to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.